Published 3:11 pm, Monday, December 29, 2014

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Texas A&M student assistant Michael Richardson was ordered off the sideline by Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin for the second half of the Liberty Bowl after videos showed him hitting West Virginia players out of bounds.

Videos appearing on Twitter late in the first half showed Richardson using his elbow to strike one West Virginia player in the back of the head and shoving another Mountaineer in a separate incident Monday afternoon.

Athletic department spokesman Brad Marquardt issued a statement during the game saying that "when Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin was made aware of student assistant Michael Richardson's actions on the sideline, he was told to remain in the locker room for the remainder of the game."

"I was made aware of the situation at halftime," Sumlin said after the Aggies' 45-37 victory. "He did not return to the field, and he's already been sent home. That's nothing that we condone. There's nothing about that whole situation that's a part of who we are and what we believe in."

Richardson is a former Texas A&M player who has been working as a student assistant. Richardson was a freshman linebacker in 2012 when he underwent surgery for a cervical spine injury that occurred in a November victory over Sam Houston State.